Fandub

A fandub (not to be confused with a fansub) is a fan-made dub or redub of a live-action or animated production. Dubbing is the act of re-recording of a live-action or animated production, typically in a language other than the original. Most productions are translated from different languages, but fandubs do exist for productions that were produced in the fandubber's native language. The dialogue can range from being a close translation to a completely altered version of the original script's story and plots, as well as the personalities of protagonists. The reasons behind fandubbing can range from the production not receiving an official dub to the official dub being poorly received. Fandubs are most commonly done with Japanese animation, but can include live action and animated series and movies in any language. Versions where the story line, character personalities, and content are dramatically altered, typically in a humorous manner, are called "Abridged Series" and "fundubs".

Because fandubs typically use copyrighted material, fandubs face the same copyright implications as fansubs but on a different scale. There have been cases when popular fandubs, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, Dragon Ball Z Abridged, and Sailor Moon Abridged are tagged by the Japanese production company for copyright use of their material (usually on YouTube). These productions are usually later re-uploaded to a new channel, and are sometimes tagged again. Despite this, gag dubs are often popular among the fan community of a particular series.

History

Amateur voice acting began simultaneously and independently from each other in a small number of developed countries. One of the first recorded projects, dating from 1989, was the anime fan-dub parody "Laputa II: The Sequel", an English redub of the first four episodes of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.

A further Star Wars fandub of Dominiq Vogt (Dododkay), using a scene in the film for a viral marketing parody gained fame with German mainstream media.

While fansubbing is a highly-popular means by which various Internet-downloaded visual media can be understood by other language markets, fandubbing as a practice has not gained similar momentum as a means of translation by lay Internet users. The majority of fandub projects are arranged for short-form video clips and are often posted to video hosting services such as YouTube.

Most series are produced online with voice actors often auditioning via forums, but live dubbing sessions at anime cons often take place, for example the " Anime Dub Live" panels held in the UK.